Author . 









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Title 



Imprint. 



10 — 47S72-'2 OPO 



The/Defenses 
of Washington 

General Early's Advance 
on the Capital and the 
Battle of Fort Stevens^ 
July II and 12, 1864 



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By William V. Cox 



Sold for the benefit of the 
Fort Stevens Preservation Fund 

Price twenty-five cents 



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^* 



10 



yj T a meeting of the Fort Stevens- 
^^'^ Lincoln Military Park Asso- 
ciation^ held on November 14, 1 90 1 , 
o?i motion of Lewis C, White, the 
following resolution was unanimously 
adopted: 

''Resolved, That W, F. Cox, Esq,, 
be requested to have printed for the 
use of the Association his very inter- 
esting address before the Columbia 
Historical Society on ' The Defenses 
of Washington — General Early' s 
Advance on the Capital and the 
Battle of Fort Stevens, fuly 1 1 
and 12, 1864.' " 



A True Copy 



Thomas M, Vincent, 

Bvt. Brig. Gen'l, U. S. A., 



President. 



A, S, Per ham. 

Secretary. 



Officers and Members of the 

Fort Stevens - Lincoln Military Park 

Association. 



Officers : 

General Thomas M. Vincent, U.S.A., President. 

Major A. S. Perham, Secretary, 905 Westminster St., 
Washington, D. C. 

Color Sergeant Louis C. White, Treasurer. 



Members . 



Maj. Henry E. Alvord. 

Gen. George W. Balloch. 

Mr. Edward T. Bates. 

Mr. Paul Beckwith. 

Maj. Carter Berkeley. 

Capt. Nathan Bickford. 

Maj. Henry L. Biscoe. 

Gen. F. F. Bogia. 

Gen. H. V. Boynton. 

Chaplain J. H. Bradford. 

Gen. Joseph C. Breckinridge. 

Col. J. Edwin Browne. 

Maj. Hiram Buckingham. 

Mr. Barry Bulkley. 

Dr. Thomas Calver. 

Maj. Edward R. Campbell. 



Col. S. E. Chamberlain. 
Dr. Horace Coleman. 
Gen. W. R. Cox. 
Mr. W. V. Cox. 
Dr. C. C. V. Crawford. 
Maj. S. A. Cunningham. 
Capt. William B. Denny. 
Gen. R. G. Dyrenforth. 
Maj. James E. Eldredge. 
Col. Calvin Farnsworth. 
Gen. Winson B. French. 
Gen. H. W. Gil more. 
Gen. John B. Gordon. 
Maj. Charles G. Gould. 
Gen. L. A. Grant. 
Gen. George H. Harries. 



Members — Continued, 



Mr. Findlay Harris. 

Hon. Hugh Hastings. 

Col. Ransom Hathorn. 

Col. Arthur Hendricks. 

Maj. Thomas Hopkins. 

Dr. Franklin T. Howe. 

Maj. A. E. H. Johnson. 

Col. John M. Kline. 

Gen. A. M. Legg. 

Capt. Henry B. Looker. 

Chaplain John H. Macomber. 

Gen. Alexander McD. McCook. 

Col. John R. McElroy. 

Gen. John Middleton. 

Dr. Charles Moore. 

Capt. John W. Morton. 

Mr. Zebina Moses. 

Governor George K. Nash. 

Judge H. N. Nevius. 

Maj. Henry J. Nichols. 

Gen. Marcus 



Col. Hannibal Norton. 
Gen. William H. Penrose. 
Dr. Charles V. Petteys. 
Dr. Robert Rayburn. 
Mr. Frank Raymond. 
Col. Robert G. Rutherford, 
Gen. D. E. Sickles. 
Gen. George H. Slaybaugh. 
Col. W. J. Sperry. 
Gen. Hazard Stevens. 
Col. Israel W. Stone. 
Hon. James Tanner. 
Col. Amison S. Tracy. 
Col. George H. Turner. 
Gen. Lew. Wallace. 
Gen. Frank Wheaton. 
Gen. Edward W. Whitaker. 
Maj. Leander P. Williams. 
Gen. John M. Wilson. 
Mr. John H. Wolf. 
J. Wright. 



The Adjutant General of Maine. 

The Adjutant General of Vermont. 

The Adjutant General of Massachusetts. 
The Adjutant General of New York. 
The Adjutant General of Pennsylvania. 
The Adjutant General of Ohio. 

The Adjutant General of Michigan. 
The Adjutant General of Illinois. 

The Adjutant General of Rhode Island. 



THE DEFENSES OF WASHINGTON— GENERAL 
EARLY'S ADVANCE ON THE CAPITAL 
AND THE BATTLE OF FORT STE- 
VENS, JULY ii AND 12, 1864.* 

By WILLIAM V. COX. 
(Read before the Society April 2, 1900.) 

When Fort Sumter was fired on, April 12, 1861, the 
city of Washington was as defenseless as it was in 1814, 
when it was captured by the British, and our engineer of- 
ficers were said at that time to have known less about its 
surroundings than of the approaches to Paris and other 
European capitals. On May 23, 1861, the first serious ef- 
fort was made to construct fortifications. On the night of 
that day Major Wood proceeded by the way of the Aque- 
duct Bridge, Major Heintzelman by the Long Bridge, and 
Colonel Ellsworth by Alexandria, to take positions and 
erect fortifications to protect the city, and secure for the 
Union army a foothold in Virginia, which, on April 17th, 
had passed the ordinance of secession. 

General Mansfield was chief engineer officer in locating 
the forts, and with him, among other officers, was Major 
Horatio G. Wright, who afterwards became commander of 
the Sixth Army Corps. 

The security of the capital being paramount, the sites 
were taken possession of as a military necessity, and, as a 
rule, the lands in front of the forts and trenches were cleared 
for a considerable distance, the timber being used in the 
construction of the forts and abatis. 

The officers of the Engineer Corps were greatly ham- 
pered in their work by a clause in the bill forbidding the 

* A list of authorities used in the preparation of this paper is given in 
appendix A, page 162. 



2 Cox: The Defenses of Washington. 

expenditure of any part of the $150,000 appropriation for 
new fortifications. In and out of Congress it was claimed 
that there was no need of forts, for were not the hills and 
valleys covered with camps of unselfish, self-sacrificing, 
patriotic volunteers? Could not the stern, unyielding de- 
termination of the men be relied upon? It was admirable 
logic, but the mistake in it was that both sides failed to re- 
alize that each possessed the same characteristics — they 
were Americans. 

It was not until after the battle of Bull Run, July 21, 
1861, that the defenselessness of the Capital was fully re- 
alized, when so greatly demoralized was the Union army 
that the city could have been easily captured by the Con- 
federates, had they not been even more demoralized by 
their victory than the Federals by their defeat. 

Mr. Stanton, when he became Secretary of War, quickly 
grasped the situation, and, regardless of the law referred 
to, appointed a commission to report on the necessity of 
completing the forts and the general defenses of the city. 

The very best engineers in the army. Generals Totten, 
Meigs, Barr}"^, Barnard and Cullum were placed on the 
Commission, and to these officers the thanks of the nation 
were due for that magnificent system of forts and batteries, 
sixty-eight in number, each flanking the other and spread 
out around Washington for a distance of 37 miles. 

Eighteen of these forts were located between Fort Sum- 
ner on the Potomac above Georgetown, in Maryland, and 
Fort Lincoln, near the Anacostia, where the gallant Bar- 
ney's guns were posted on August 24, 1814, to hold in 
check the British " red coats " as they advanced from 
Bladensburg.* In addition to these forts there were, be- 
tween Forts Sumner and Lincoln, four batteries of heavy 

*In the autumn of 1862, a force of several thousand troops were em- 
ployed in constructing rifle-trenches and roads, felling timber, building 
new and repairing old works, and in the spring and summer of 1863, 1,500 
men were employed on the fortifications. 



Cox: The Defenses of Washington. 3 

artillery and twenty-three batteries of light artillery, to- 
gether forming what General Barnard describes as " a 
connected system of fortiiications by which every point at 
intervals of 800 to 1,000 yards was occupied by an inclosed 
field fort, every important approach or depression of ground 
unseen from the forts was swept by a batter}' of field guns, 
and the whole connected by rifle-trenches which were in 
fact lines of infantry parapet, furnishing employment for 
two ranks of men and affording covered communications 
along the line, while the roads were open wherever neces- 
sary, so that troops and artillery could be moved rapidly 
from one point of the immense periphery to another, or 
under cover from point to point along the line."* 

In those days, as now, the Seventh Street Pike (Bright- 
wood Avenue) was the leading thoroughfare to and from 
Washington, and at a point five miles from the Capitol, 
where the cordon of defenses crossed this road, at a height 
of 321 feet above mean tide, a fort was built in October, 
1861, by the troops, who named it " Massachusetts " in 
honor of the old Bay State. 

The fort being found inadequate for its important pur- 
pose, it was enlarged in 1862 and 1863, and on April ist 
of that year, the name was changed to Fort Stevens, in 
memory of Brigadier-General Isaac Ingalls Stevens, who 
had just lost his life at Chantilly, Virginia, f 

The ramparts of Fort Stevens extended from a point about 
fifty feet north of the present schoolhouse, in a northern 

* A military road was constructed from Fort Sumner to Fort Stevens 
in September, 1862, a distance of about 5^ miles; speaking of which Pro- 
febsor George C. Schaeffer said : " When the defenses are swept away, the 
roads may remain as a lasting benefit." 

t When his troops wavered under the terrific fire, General Stevens 
rushed forward to the leading regiment, seized the colors from the 
wounded bearer and calling on the Highlanders to follow him, led them 
in the onslaught which hurled back the enemy. In the moment of vic- 
tory he fell, his brain pierced by a bullet in the temple, the flag of his 
country in his dying grasp. — Life of General Stevens, by General Hazard 
Stevens. 



4 Cox: The Defenses of Washington. 

direction for the distance of about i6o feet, outside measure- 
ment, then in a general northwest direction for the distance 
of 140 feet, then northwest at a more acute angle 90 feet, 
then nearly west for the distance of 220 feet, then south- 
west about 80 feet, and then south about 114 feet, as you now 
see it, with a perimeter of 1,125 feet, inside measurement. 
The two ends on the south were connected by a stockade. 
The entrance was from this side and a blockhouse about 
half way between the entrance and the west end of the 
fort flanked the stockade. The fort had two magazines; 
one where Emory Chapel now stands, and the other to the 
west, where the depression is still visible. The house of 
Elizabeth Thomas, who is still alive (and known to most 
of us), was torn down and the cellar enlarged for this 
magazine.* A bomb-proof, about 150 feet in length, ex- 
tended northwest and southeast parallel to the stockade and 
about 50 feet from it. A flagstaff stood on the east side 
of the fort, where the chapel now stands. (Lat. 38*^ 57' 
47.16", long. 77° 01' 23.57".) Around the entire fort was 
an abatis. 

The fort, described as '* a powerful and satisfactory 
work," was protected by rifle-trenches — those on the 
northwest side are still standing and in good preservation. 

During the war various troops camped in and around 
Fort Stevens, and to-day, those who recall " wartimes" 
will tell you of the 7th Massachusetts being encamped on 
the White farm on the west side of Brightwood Avenue ; 
the loth Massachusetts on the Lay farm ; the 36th New 

* Aunt Betty says : " The soldiers camped here at this time were mostly 
German. I could not understand them, not even the officers, but when they 
began taking out my furniture and tearing down our house, I understood. 
In the evening I was sitting under that sycamore tree — my only house — 
with what furniture I had left around me. I was crying, as was my six- 
months'-old child, which I had in my arms, when a tall, slender man, 
dressed in black, came up and said to me : ' It is hard, but you shall reap 
a great reward.' It was President Lincoln, and had he lived I know the 
claim for my losses would have been paid." 



Cox : The Defenses of Washington. 5 

York on the east side of Brightwood Avenue, opposite the 
hotel ; the Rhode Island Regiment on the old Ray farm 
by Piney Branch ; the Maine battery was west ; battery L, 
First Ohio, was east of Fort Stevens, while the " Hun- 
dred Day men," all from Ohio, were then, as now, every- 
where. 

It may interest you to know that among those Buckeyes 
who saw service at Fort Stevens in 1864, was Gov. Geo. 
K. Nash, Private in Co. K, 150th Ohio National Guard. 
Marcus A. Hanna, Second Lieutenant in Co. C, was sta- 
tioned at Fort Bunker Hill. 

In the hollow ground south of Fort Stevens, capable of 
sheltering large bodies of men from curved artillery fire, 
were built barracks and officers' quarters, partly from 
timber cut down in front of the fortifications and from 
lumber in houses and fences belonging to Mr. M. G. 
Emery and others, which the soldiers tore down without 
consulting the owners. During the battle these barracks 
were converted into hospitals for receiving the wounded. 
The bricks from the chimneys and foundations of the torn- 
down houses were used in constructing baking ovens. 

The Emery house, still standing, was used for head- 
quarters by Gen. D. A. Couch, Gen. Francis A. Walker and 
other officers, while the cupolo was used as a signal station, 
and many were the messages, it is said, that were " wig- 
wagged " from it to the Soldiers' Home, to Mt. Pleasant 
and even to the Capitol. 

The armament of Fort Stevens consisted of 19 guns and 
two mortars ; of these, five were 30-pound rifled Parrott, 
and ten 24-pound and two 8-inch smooth-bore guns. Four 
of the guns were on Barbette carriages, two at the north- 
east and two at the northwest. 

A map of Gen. Meigs, a copy of which I have, shows 
the relative ranges of the guns, the outer one being near 
the District line. 



6 Cox: The Defenses of Washington. 

At many points the earthworks have been leveled, but 
thirty-six years ago, these same old earthworks saved the 
nation's capital. 

In the summer of 1864, Grant was crowding Lee to- 
ward Richmond ; Gen. Hunter, having defeated Jones near 
Staunton, was threatening Lynchburg. Lee thereupon 
determined to follow the example of Napoleon who made 
it the fashion of Europe to dash through all obstacles to 
the Capital of the enem}^ ; so he divided his army and on 
June 12, 1864, ordered Early to take Ewell's corps, then 
near Gaines' Mill, Cold Harbor, and attack Hunter in the 
rear, push down the Shenandoah Valley, cross the Poto- 
mac, enter Maryland and surprise Washington. Lee 
probably reasoned that this movement would induce Grant 
to attack him, strongly entrenched, or divide his army 
when he hoped to engage and destroy him. Accordingly 
Early started the next day, June 13th, on his famous cam- 
paign. He struck Hunter, who retired * down the Kana- 
wha Valley, crossing the Potomac near Harper's Ferry, 
and was in Maryland and was shelling Sigel's force as it 
ascended the Maryland Heights before Grant would be- 
lieve that he was not in his front opposing him. 

On July 8th, Early moved around Sigel's force and on 
the 9th, was at Frederick. Having exacted a tribute of 
;^2oo,ooo, he moved out and defeated Gen. Lew Wallace 
at Monocacy River. So ambitious was Early to capture, 
or as he afterwards said, threaten Washington that he did 
not follow up Wallace, but marched at once on to the 
Capital. On July loth, he appeared at Rockville, ten miles 
from Fort Stevens, where Maj. Fry, of Lowell's cavalry, 
briskly engaged him for an hour and a half, but when 

* Hunter moved down the Kanawha and up the Ohio to Parkersburg, 
where he took the B. & O. R. R., July 5th. On the loth, his cavalry reoc- 
cupied Martinsburg. The slow movement was due to the low water in 
the Ohio and the injury done to the railroad by Imboden. The troops 
were compelled to march from Cherry Run. 



Cox: The Defenses of Washington. 7 

Early brought his artillery to bear, retreated to within a 
couple of miles of Tennallytown. 

The rapid and successful movement of the energetic 
Early, the appearance of bodies of his forces in the most 
unexpected quarters, startled the North. Instead of there 
being " an entire feeling of security for its safety from 
menace," the Capital was actually threatened by Early's 
troops, flushed with success. Indeed there were grave 
reasons to believe that with its defenses stripped of the 
disciplined artillery by Gen. Grant, the Capital would be 
captured by the southern veterans, incited by the prize and 
inspired by the audacity of the undertaking. The heart 
of the North beat quickly, for it saw that with the Capital 
in the possession of the enemy, grave complications would 
follow by the recognition of the Confederate States by 
foreign powers, longing only for a plausible pretext to 
begin the diplomatic campaign of dismemberment. 

As we look back at the actual condition of affairs in 
Washington in 1864, we find that there were barely 
enough artillerymen for a single relief of gunners. There 
was only one fifth enough infantry available to man the 
parapets, and a small brigade of cavalry, mostly unmounted. 
If we may judge by what Gen. Halleck wired an ambi- 
tious officer on July nth, Washington was defended by 
Generals. He says: "We have five times as many 
generals as we want but we are greatly in need of privates. 
Anyone volunteering in that capacity will be thankfully 
received." 

Gen. C. C. Augur was in command of the Department 
of Washington, while Gen. A. McD. McCook was in com- 
mand of the troops and fortifications. The latter, accord- 
ing to the Meigs map, had his headquarters, on July nth 
and 1 2th, at Mooreland's Tavern, where Brightwood Hotel 
now stands. 

Every man in Washington was utilized for defense. 



8 Cox: The Defenses of Washington. 

Gen. M. C. Meigs called out the Quartermaster employes, 
and had his headquarters at Fort Slocum, the tirst fort 
east of Fort Stevens. Still further to the east was Fort 
Totten, where there was a lOO-pound gun which swept the 
section from Fort De Russy, where there was another loo- 
pound gun, to Fort Lincoln. The Veteran Reserves and 
the District volunteers were also called out, and all avail- 
able sailors and marines were placed under the command 
of Admiral Goldsborough, while all the men that could be 
spared were drawn from the forts south of the Potomac. 
(Appendix B, page 164.) 

The swiftness of Early's approach gave little time for 
preparations. Gen. McCook, who had been ordered to 
command a reserve camp on Piney Branch Creek, pro- 
ceeded on Sunday afternoon, July loth, to make an exami- 
nation of the ground. During the night, he says, the 2d 
District Volunteers, the 9th Regiment Veteran Reserves 
and Capt. Gibb's and Bradley's Batteries reported to him. 
On Monday morning the alarming news from the front 
forced him to move his troops to the rifle trenches on either 
side of Fort Stevens. He sent out a skirmish line and took 
command of the fort and lines which he had never seen 
before his arrival. Gen. McCook, in his report, speaking of 
the defenders of Washington, said, " I hazard the remark 
that there never was before a command so heterogeneous, 
yet so orderly. The hale and hearty soldier, the invalid, 
the convalescent, the wounded, and the Quartermaster's 
employes, side by side, each working with a singleness of 
purpose and willing to discharge any duty imposed upon 
him." 

There seems, however, to have been much confusion 
among the commanders. Charles A. Dana, Assistant 
Secretary of War, is authority for the statement that 
" Gen. Halleck would not give orders, except as he re- 
ceived them from Grant ; the President would give none ; 



Cox : The Defenses of Washington. g 

and until Grant directed positively and explicitly what was 
to be done, everything was at a standstill." 

When Gen. Grant realized the gravity of the situation, 
and that Hunter could render no assistance, he at first 
thought of returning from Petersburg to Washington to 
take command in person. On reflection, however, he de- 
cided to send back the 6th Corps, commanded by Gen. 
Horatio Wright, " an excellent officer," as he says, and 
well known to many of us and whose death we have 
recently been called to mourn. 

The 25th New York Cavalry, the headquarters Guard 
of Gen. Grant, which left City Point, Virginia, July 7th, 
seems to have been the first regiment to reach Washington 
from the James and went into camp about midnight of the 
lOth of July, near Fort Stevens. The same day, the ist 
and 2d Divisions of the 6th Corps left City Point for 
Washington. A few hours later. General W. H. Emory, 
with a part of the 19th Corps, just returning from New 
Orleans to join Grant, left Fortress Monroe for Wash- 
ington without disembarking from their ocean transports. 

What a picture ! Early with his fighting legion, advanc- 
ing on the Capital from the north, while fleets bearing the 
veterans of the 6th and 19th Army Corps were on their 
way from the James and the Gulf of Mexico to save the 
capital they loved so well. North and South looked on 
with bated breath and wondered which, in this race of 
armies, would reach Washmgton first. 

Disquieting rumors of all kinds were being circulated in 
Baltimore and Washington. 

Neither Lincoln, Stanton nor Halleck lacked coolness nor 
energy in this trying emergency, say Nicolay and Hay. 
The President's chief anxiety was for the capture of 
Early, as is shown by the letter he wrote Gen. Grant, in 
which he says that the difficulty will be to unite Wright 
and Hunter south of the enemy, before they recross the 



lO Cox: The Defenses of Washington. 

Potomac, adding significantly " some firing between Rock- 
ville and here now." The President seems to have been 
unusually calm, thinking little of personal danger, for we 
find that on July loth, he wired Gov. Swann, at Baltimore, 
"Let us be vigilant, but keep cool." He eft the White 
House, the evening of that day, against the protests of 
officials, and rode to the cottage he occupied at the Sol- 
diers' Home. 

When Mr. Stanton learned that the enemy had appeared 
in strong force at Tennalytown and Silver Spring, he sent 
a carriage for the President and insisted upon his returning 
that night to Washington. Mr. Lincoln seemed to have 
caused all the officials worry for his personal safety ; the 
Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Captain G. V. Fox, was 
so anxious that he took the precaution to have a vessel 
ready in case it were necessary for the President to leave 
Washington. The solicitude shown both by Stanton and 
Fox discomposed and irritated Mr. Lincoln. 

As already indicated, it cannot be truly said that there 
was tranquility in Washington. On July 6th Secretary 
Stanton wired General Hunter at Parkersburg : 

"You cannot be too speedy in your movements in this 
direction with your whole force." 

The telegram of General Lew Wallace on July loth was 
not conducive to entire mental composure of even the most 
buoyant. "I have been defeated," he said; "the enemy 
are not pursuing me, from which I infer they are march- 
ing on Washington." 

On July nth Charles A. Dana wired Grant: "Wash- 
ington and Baltimore are in a state of great excitement. 
Both cities are filled with country people fleeing from the 
enemy. The damage to private property done by the in- 
vaders is almost beyond calculation. Mills, workshops 
and factories of every sort have been destroyed. From 
twenty-five to fifty miles of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail- 
road have been torn up." 



Cox: The Defenses of Washington. ii 

" The boldness of the movement," wired Halleck to 
Grant, " would indicate that he is stronger than we sup- 
posed." 

General McCook wired Colonel Taylor on the morning 
of the nth: "The advance cavalry pickets two and a 
half miles beyond fortifications report the enemy advanc- 
ing in force on the Leesborough road. My force is small, 
but will do my best." 

General McCook wired General Augur at 12 :30 p. m., 
July nth: "The enemy is advancing on my front with 
cavalry, artillery and infantry." 

The Signal Officer wired : " The enemy is within twenty 
rods of Fort Stevens."* 

On the morning of July nth. General Early left his 
camp near Rockville, McCausland taking the Georgetown 
pike ; the infantry, preceded and flanked by cavalry, tak- 
ing the Seventh street pike. Major Frye, of Lowell's cav- 
alry, met the enemy's cavalry skirmishers a short distance 
beyond the picket line, on the Georgetown pike, before 
noon and forced them back on their reserves. He, in 
turn, was forced back by the enemy, who fired a few shots 
from a battery of light artillery. Colonel Marble, of the 
151st Ohio, was in command of the line near Fort De- 
Russy, which was weak on account of the topography and 
the shelter afforded by logs, rocks and stumps in the valley 
of Rock Creek, t 

About II o'clock, the signal officer, at Fort Reno ob- 
served clouds of dust and army wagons moving on the 

* The troops garrisoning the fort July lo, were composed of Co. K, 
150th Ohio, 78 men, Capt. A. A. Safford; 13th Michigan battery, 79 
men, Capt. Charles Dupont; 52 convalescents, commanded by Lieut. H. 
L. Turner, 150th Ohio. — War of the Rebellion, Vol. 37, Series i, p 247. 

t A persistent statement is made that General Breckenridge wanted to 
take his command and force the Union lines by Rock Creek ; then face 
east and west, take the works in escalade, form a junction with the rest of 
the Confederate forces, and march into Washington. 



12 Cox: The Defenses of Washington. 

Seventh street pike, and General McCook was promptly 
informed.* About the same time he received a message 
from Captain Berry, 8th Illinois Cavalry, that the enemy 
with artillery, cavalry and infantry was moving in the 
direction of Silver Spring, General McCook ordered the 
picket line, composed of 150 O. V. I., and the 25th New 
York Cavalr}^ Dismounted Cavalry under Major G. G. 
Briggs, 7th Michigan Cavalry, and the Veteran Reserves, 
to contest the ground and to retire slowly on approach of 
the enemy until within range of the guns of Forts Stevens, 
Slocum and DeRussy.f 

Shortly after noon, riding in advance with Rodes, whose 
division, consisting of Given's and Cox's North Carolin- 
ians, Crook's Georgians and Battle's Alabamians, in the 
van, General Early came, as he says, in full view of Fort 
Stevens, and found it feebly manned, as had been reported 
to him. Smith, of Imboden's Cavalry (Early says), drove 
a small body of Union Cavalry before him into the works, 
dismounting his men and deploying them as skirmishers. 

What must have been the thoughts of Early as he con- 
templated that " feebly manned fort," beyond which arose 
the majestic dome of the Capitol ! I have little doubt 
but that he said to himself that the Confederate flag would 
be floating there before the sun sank across the Potomac 
and behind the Virginia hills. 

No time, however, could be lost, and he ordered Rodes 
to bring his division of tired and dusty veterans in line as 
rapidly as possible and move " into the works"; but be- 

* At II o'clock on tlie morning of the nth, the enemy commenced the 
attack on the picket line. — Colonel J. N. Frasee. 

Captain Joseph N. Abbey, 2d Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery (at Fort 
Slocum), says: "The enem}' appeared at the corner of the woods on 
Seventh Street, opposite Mr. Blair's house, about 3,200 yards in front of 
this fort (evidently Lay House)." 

t Wm. E. Leach, Co. K, 150 Ohio, was the first man wounded on 
picket and died shortly afterwards. — Vol. 37, Series i, p. 245. War of 
the Rebellion. 



Cox: The Defenses of Washington. 13 

fore his order could be executed, to his great surprise 
and everlasting regret he saw trained and disciplined 
troops move out of the works, deploy and form a skirmish 
line. 

What must have been his disappointment ! Nothing 
daunted, the tireless Early and his brave men continued to 
advance, but with a greater degree of caution than before. 
It was too late, the hopes and ambitions of only an hour 
ago could never be realized. Washington is saved to the 
Union ! What Early thought had happened, now hap- 
pened ; the 6th Corps had arrived. Never was there a 
more opportune movement, never was there a more wel- 
come arrival. Down the historic James, up the historic 
Potomac, came the 6th Corps. Mr. Lincoln, who had 
been at Fort Stevens in the morning, drove to the 7th 
street wharf to meet and welcome them. How thev 
cheered him, and how warmly he greeted them ! With 
what alacrity both officers and men marched to reinforce 
the brave defenders on the firing line ! Dr. Geo. T. 
Stevens, the historian of the 6lh Army Corps, says " The 
column was formed and we marched up 7th street, past 
the Smithsonian Institution, the Patent Office and the Post 
Office, meeting on our way many old friends, and hearing 
people who crowded on the sidewalks, exclaiming, " It is 
the old 6th Corps " — " These are the men who took Mayre's 
Heights" — "The danger is over now." Washington, 
an hour before, was in a panic ; now, as the people saw 
the veterans wearing the badge of the Greek cross march- 
ing through their streets, the excitement subsided and con- 
fidence prevailed. 

"Thus we made our way to the north of the city, the 
sound of cannonading in our front stimulating and hasten- 
ing the steps of the men. 

" Families with a few of their choicest articles of house- 
hold furniture loaded into wagons, were hastening to the 



14 Cox : The Defenses of Washington. 

city, reporting that their houses were burned, or that they 
had made their escape, leaving the greater part of their 
goods to the mercy of the Rebel. 

" We reached a pine grove in the rear of Fort DeRussy, 
and made our bivouac for the night." * 

Gen. Frank Wheaton in his report says : " While march- 
ing up Pennsylvania Avenue in compliance with the in- 
structions of the Corps commander, I was halted by Col. 
Taylor, Chief of Staff, Department of Washington, and 
informed by him that the enemy was driving in our picket 
line and seriously threatening Fort Stevens on 7th Street, 
and received through him Gen. Augur's instructions to 
march at once in that direction, instead of Chain Bridge as 
first ordered. I turned my Brigade up nth (probably 
14th) street, and while on the march to Fort Stevens, was 
passed by Gen. Wright, commanding the Corps, and re- 
ceived his verbal instructions to mass near Crystal Spring 
in the neighborhood of Fort Stevens, where we arrived at 
4 o'clock in the afternoon. 

"At 5 P. M., the force outside of Fort Stevens, consist- 
ing of a portion of the Veteran Reserve Corps, War De- 
partment clerks and citizen volunteers, was driven in 
toward the Fort by a portion of the enemy's forces under 
Early. At the same time, I was ordered to move 500 men 
of my brigade out to recover the line held in the afternoon. 
This was successfully accomplished before 7 o'clock by 
the 98th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers, Col. J. F. 
Bailler; io2d Penn. Vet. Vols., Maj. Thomas McLaugh- 
lin; and 139th Penn. Vols., Capt. James McGregor, 
which deployed as skirmishers, and drove the enemy's ad- 
vance back to their main lines. The position was strength- 
ened at dark by the 93d Penn. Vet. Volunteers, Lt. Col. 
J. S. Long, and the 62d New York Vet. Volunteers, Lt. 

* At 4 P. M. Gen. Wright wired Gen. Augur from Fort Stevens, "The 
head of my column has nearly reached the front." 



Cox: The Defenses of Washington. 15 

Col. T. B. Hamilton, and extended from a point opposite 
the center of the line between Forts Stevens and Reno to 
the west, and a point opposite Fort Slocum on the east, a 
distance of about two miles. Skirmishing continued 
through the night." (Appendix C, page 165.) 

Camp fires in considerable numbers were reported that 
night by the telegraph operator at Fort Stevens. 

In vain had Early tried all the afternoon of July nth to 
find a weak spot in the lines, but he was met everywhere 
by the fire of fort guns and musketry. The works he re- 
ported exceedingly strong, consisting of what appeared to 
be inclosed forts for heavy artillery, with a tier of lower 
works in front of each, pierced for an immense number of 
guns, the whole being connected by curtains with ditches 
in front and strengthened by palisades and abatis. The 
timber had been felled within cannon range all around and 
left on the ground, making a formidable obstacle, and 
every possible approach was raked bv artillery. On the 
right was Rock Creek, running through a deep ravine, 
which had been rendered impassable by the felling of the 
timber on each side, and beyond were the works on the 
Georgetown pike, which had been reported to be the 
strongest of all ; on the left, as far as the eye could reach, 
the works appeared to be of the same impregnable char- 
acter. 

Early thereupon held a consultation with his generals, 
Breckenridge, Rodes, Ramseur and Gordon, pointing out 
the necessity of action before the fords and mountain passes 
were closed against them. In concluding, he announced 
his purpose of making an assault at daylight. During the 
night a dispatch was received from Bradley Johnson, near 
Baltimore, stating that two corps of Grant's army had 
arrived in Washington. This caused a delay in the at- 
tack, and when examining the works at daylight July 12th, 
Gen. Early saw the parapets lined with troops, he says he 



1 6 Cox: The Defenses of Washington. 

then determined to abandon the idea of capturing Wash- 
ington.* 

A distinguished writer, who was at Brightwood during 
the battle, says: "July 12th came bright and glorious. 
The First Brigade of our 2d Division and our sharp- 
shooters were on the picket in front of Fort Stevens, the 
second and third Brigades still enjoying the delightful 
shades of the groves in the rear of Fort DeRussy. From 
the parapet of Fort Stevens could be seen the lines of 
Rebel skirmishers, from whose rifles the white puffs of 
smoke rose as they discharged their pieces at our pickets. 
The valley beyond presented a scene of surpassing loveli- 
ness, with the rich green meadows, its fields of waving corn, 
its orchards and its groves. 

The principal force of the enemy seemed to be in front 
of Fort Stevens ; there it was determined to give them 
battle. 

About 5 o'clock in the afternoon (July 12th), Gen. Wright 
ordered Gen. Wheaton to drive back the Confederate 
skirmish line and occupy the wooded points near the road, 
which, being so near our intrenchments, gave the enemy 
advantage of position; thereupon. Col. Bidwell was in- 
structed to have the 3d Brigade move outside of the Fort 
and form, under cover of a ravine and woods, in two lines 
directly in the rear of the First Brigade, on the skirmish 
line. Col. Bidwell was also directed to select three of his 
best regiments to assist in the assault, the remaining por- 
tion of the Brigade to be held to support the general 
movement. 

According to Gen. Wheaton, " The 7th Maine, 43d N. 
Y., Lt. Col. J. D. Visscher, and 49th N. Y., Lt. Col. G. W. 
ing the position, burying the dead, caring for the wounded, 

* It has been stated that this report grew out of the publication of a 
fictitious telegram, care being taken that a sufficient number of papers got 
into the hands of Southern sympathizers, when the edition was in a 
public manner suppressed. 



Cox: The Defenses of Washington. 17 

Johnston were skillfully placed in position near the skirmish 
line under the direction of Col. Bidwell without the enemy 
discovering the movement. 

" A preconcerted signal was made by a staff officer, 
when these regiments were in position, at which time the 
batteries from Forts Stevens and Slocum opened fire upon 
certain indicated points, strongly held by the enemy. 

" As had been previously arranged, after the 36th shot 
from Fort Stevens had been fired, a signal was made from 
the parapet of that work and the commander of the skirmish 
line and three assaulting regiments dashed forward, surpris- 
ing and hotly engaging the enemy, who was found to be 
much stronger than supposed. It became necessary to de- 
ploy immediately the three remaining regiments — the 77^^ 
New York, Lt. Col. French; i22d New York, Lt. Col. 
Dwight ; and 6ist Pennsylvania Volunteers — Bidwell's 
Brigade, on the right of those he had already in the action, 
and the picket reserve of 150 men from the I02d Pennsyl- 
vania Volunteers, and a detachment of 80 men from the 
Vermont Brigade to support the skirmish line immediately 
on the right and left of the pike. The enemy's stubborn 
resistance showed that a farther advance than already made 
would require more troops, and two regiments were sent 
for. Before their arrival, however (the 37th Massachusetts 
Volunteers, Lt. Col. Montague and 2d Rhode Island, Capt. 
E. H. Rhodes), an aide-de-camp from Gen. Wright di- 
rected me not to attempt more than holding of the position 
I had gained, as the object of the attack had been accom- 
plished and the important points captured and held. 

" This whole attack was as gallant as it was successful, 
and the troops never evinced more energy or determina- 
tion. The losses were very severe, the brave Col. Bid- 
well losing many of his most valuable regimental com- 
manders. * * * The last shot was fired about 10 o'clock, 
and the remainder of the night was occupied in strength- 



1 8 Cox: The Defenses of Washington. 

and relieving the skirmish line which had been two days 
in front constantly under fire, — by troops of the 2d Ver- 
mont Bricrade." 

In concluding his report, Gen. Wheaton says : '* Of the 
brave men of this command, who have so promptly and 
gallantly engaged the enemy, I cannot speak in too high 
terms of praise. 

*' They have never faltered in battle, nor murmured at 
the fatigues and hardships which they have been called 
upon to endure. They have nobly earned the admiration 
of their commander and the gratitude of the nation." 

Dr. Stevens describes the attack in these words : 

" The flag of the 77th N. Y. waved the signal of readi- 
ness, the heavy ordnance in the fort sent volley after volley 
of thirty-two pound shells howling over the heads of our 
men into the midst of the Rebels, and through the house 
where so many of them had found shelter, and then at the 
command of ' Sedgwick's Man of Iron,' the brave fellows 
started eagerly forward. They reached and passed the 
skirmishers, and the white puffs of smoke and the sharp 
crack of their rifles became more and more frequent, first 
the rattle of an active skirmish and then the continuous 
roar of a musketry battle. 

*' In magnificent order and with light steps, they ran 
forward up the ascent, through the orchard, through the 
little grove on the right, over the rail fence, up to the 
road, making straight for the first objective point, the 
frame house " (Lay) " in front. The Rebels, at first 
stood their ground, then gave way before the impetuous 
charge and though forced to seek safety in flight, turned 
and poured their volleys into the ranks of the pursuers. 
Lt. Col. Johnson, commanding the 49th N. Y., a brave 
man, who had never shrunk from danger, and who had 
shared all the various fortunes of the Brigade since its or- 
ganization, fell mortally wounded. Col. Visscher of the 



Cox : The Defejises of Washington. 19 

43d N. Y., who had but lately succeeded the beloved 
Wilson, was killed. Maj. James P. Jones, commanding 
the 7th Maine, was also among the slain ; and Maj. 
Crosby, commanding the 6ist Penn., who had just recov- 
ered from a bad wound which he received in the Wil- 
derness, was taken to the hospital, where the surgeon re- 
moved his left arm from the shoulder. Col. W. B. 
French of the 77th N. Y. was injured. The commanding 
officer of every regiment in the Brigade was either killed 
or wounded. 

" The fight had lasted but a few minutes, when the 
stream of bleeding, mangled ones began to come to the 
rear, men leaning upon the shoulders of comrades, or borne 
painfully on stretchers, the pallor of their countenances 
rendered more ghastly by the thick dust which settled upon 
them were brought into the hospitals by scores, where the 
medical officers, ever active in administering relief to their 
companions, were hard at work binding up ghastly wounds, 
administering stimulants, coffee and food, or resorting to 
the hard necessity of amputation. 

" At the summit of the ascent, the Confederates were 
strengthened by their second line of battle, and here they 
made a stout resistance ; but even this position they were 
forced to abandon in haste ; and as darkness closed in 
upon the scene our men were left as victors in possession 
of the ground, lately accupied by the Rebels, having 
driven their adversaries more than a mile. 

"The Vermont Brigade now came to the relief of the 
boys who had so gallantly won the field, and the third 
Brigade returned at midnight to the bivouac it had left in 
the morning. But not all returned. Many of those brave 
men who went with such alacrity into the battle had fallen 
to rise no more, in the orchard, in the road, about the frame 
house and upon the summit where the rebels had made so 
determined a resistance ; their forms were stretched upon 



20 Cox: The Defenses of Washington. 

the green sward and upon the dusty road, stiff and cold. 
Many more had come to the hospital severely injured, 
maimed for life or mortally wounded.* (Appendix D, 
page i68.) 

" The little brigade, numbering only a thousand men 
when it went into action, had lost two hundred and fifty of 
its number. * * * We gathered our dead comrades from 
the field where they had fallen and gave them the rude 
burial of the soldier on the common near Fort Stevens. 
No officer of state, no lady of wealth, no citizen of Wash- 
ington was there ; but we laid them in their graves within 
sight of the Capitol, without coffins, with only their gory 
garments and their blankets around them. With the rude 
tenderness of soldiers, we covered them in the earth, and 
marked their names with our pencils on the little head- 
boards of pine, and turned sadly away to other scenes." 

Land of Earth's hope, 
On thy blood-reddened sod 
They died for the Nation, 
The Union, and God. 
Oh, that last charge ! 

On an eminence in the rear of the Confederate advance 
was John C. Breckenridge, the candidate receiving the 

* On July nth twenty shots were fired from the guns of Fort Stevens — 
fourteen 30-pound, and six 24-pound. Of these, five were fired at the 
Confederates in a grove 1,050 3'ards distant ; six 24-pound and two 30- 
pound shots were fired at them in the rear of the old target; one in the 
pike in front of the target; two at 2,000 yards distance; one at the skir- 
mish line behind an orchard; one at the Carberry house (Lay) ; and two 
in their midst, at a distance of 1,254 yards. 

On July 1 2th, sixty-seven shots were fired, thirty of them at the Car- 
berry or Lay house, which was set on fire by shots from a mortar; fifteen 
at the Reeves house (B. H. Warner's house), 1,078 yards; four on the 
ground at the right of the pike, 1,050 yards; two in the ravine in the 
rear of the Lay house; ten at the carriage shop; two solid shots at the 
old camp, and four at the column en masse. 

Fort DeRussy fired 109 shots, Fort Slocum 53. 

General Early occupied the F. P. Blair house for his headquarters; 
General Imboden, the James Blair house. 



Cox: The Defenses of Washington. 21 

votes of the seceding states for President, expecting to enter 
the Capital with the Army of Northern Virginia. 

On the parapet of Fort Stevens, by the side of General 
Wright, amid the whizzing bullets, stood the successful 
candidate in that great political struggle, Abraham Lin- 
coln, watching with that " grave and pensive counte- 
nance," the progress of the battle. 

Four years ago, in company with the old commander of 
the 6th Corps and his daughter, Mrs. Rosa Wright Smith ; 
Gen. D. S. Stanley; Capt. Thomas Wilson ; Dr. C. G. 
Stone and James E. Kelly, the well-known sculptor of 
American history, I stood upon that same parapet. After 
contemplating the surroundings. Gen. Wright said, "There 
near the pike was the woods that was so full of Early's 
men ; along this slope is where our skirmishers deplo3'ed ; 
there a house was burned, there another, and still another; 
over these trenches went the brave soldiers of the 6th 
Corps. Where is the tree? I cannot find the tree from 
which a sharp-shooter picked off my men. The old toll- 
gate has gone also." 

He paced up and down the top of the crumbling earth- 
works for awhile, as if to satisfy himself in regard to some 
fact, then said, "Here on the top of this parapet between 
this old embrasure and that, is the place where President 
Lincoln stood, witnessing the fight; there, by his side, a 
surgeon was wounded by a minie ball. 

" I entreated the President not to expose his life to the 
bullets of the enemy ; but he seemed oblivious to his sur- 
roundings ; finally, when I found that my entreaties failed 
to make any impression on him, I said, ' Mr. President, I 
know you are commander of the armies of the United 
States, but I am in command here, and as you are not safe 
where you are standing, and I am responsible for your 
personal safety, I order you to come down.' Mr. Lincoln 
looked at me, smiled, and then, more in consideration of 



22 Cox : The Defenses of Washington. 

my earnestness than from inclination, stepped down and 
took position behind the parapet. Even then, he would 
persist in standing up and exposing his tall form." 

That old parapet, identified by Gen. Horatio G. Wright, 
stands to-day, and for history's sake should be preserved 
for a park on the only battlefield in the District of Colum- 
bia. It should be called after that benignant man of the 
people, Abraham Lincoln.* 

In gratitude, let us save all that remains of those silent 
reminders of the terrible days of war, as a monument to 
the bravery of the American soldier — a united North and 
South. 



APPENDIX. 

A. 

In preparing this paper I have consulted : 

The War of the Rebellion, Vol. 37, Series i, parts i 
and 2. 

Defenses of Washington, J. G. Barnard, Washington 
Government Printing Office, 187 1. 

Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Robt. U. John- 
son and Clarence O. Buel, Century Company, New York. 

The Civil War in the United States. 

Greeley's American Conflict. 

Draper's Civil War in America. 

Lossing's Civil War. 

Life of Lincoln, Nicolay and Hay. 

Personal Memories of U. S. Grant, Century Company, 
New York. 

Washington in Lincoln's Time, Noah Brooks, Century 
Company, New York, 1895. 

'■Address by W. V. Cox at Flag Presentation, Brightwood Engine 
Company, August 6, 1S97. 



Cox: The Defenses of Washington. 2^ 

Three Years in the Sixth Corps, Dr. Geo. T. Stevens, 
Van Nostrand. 

Official Roster, Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War 
of the Rebellion, 1861-66. Werner Company, Akron, 
Ohio, 1893. 

Ohio in the War of the Rebellion, Whitelaw Reid, 
Moore, Wilstach & Baldwin, Cincinnati, 1868. 

Memoirs of the Confederate War for Independence, H. 
Von Borcke, Lippincott & Co., 1867. 

General Early in National Republican, Washington, 
August 4, 1881. 

Chas. A. Dana, McCliire's Magazine, May, 1898. 

A Reminiscence of Washington and Early's Attack in 
1864, Edgar S. Dudley, First Lieutenant Second U. S. 
Artillery, Peter G. Thomson, Cincinnati, 1884. 

Early's Raid on Washington, A Leaf from History. 
Col. Chamberlain, 25th N. Y. Cavalry, The Republic, 
Washington, March, 1877. 

The American Soldier in the Civil War, Eldridge S. 
Brooks. 

History of the 76th New York Volunteers. By Lieut. 
A. P. Smith. 

Washington Sketch Book, Blanchard and Mohun. 

Handy Guide to Washington, Rand, McNally & Co. 

New York Tribune, July, 1864. 

New^ York Herald, July, 1864. 

The Evening Star, Washington, July, 1864. 

The Chronicle, Washington, July, 1864. 

National Intelligencer , Washington, July, 1864. 

Harper's Weekly, Jul}^ 1864. 

Frank Leslie^s, July, 1864. 

Contributors in the National Tribune, Washington. 

Contributors in the local papers of Washington. 

Letters from participants ; interviews with same. 



24 Cox : The Defenses of Washington. 

B. 

On July lo, 1864, there were North of Potomac^ the 
150, 151, 170 Regiments Ohio National Guard; 13 Com- 
panies Heavy Artillery (Volunteer) ; 2 Companies Light 
Artillery: 2 Companies U. S. Artillery. All under com- 
mand of Brigadier-General M. D. Hardin, with an effec- 
tive force, 1,819 Infantry, 1,834 Artillery, and 63 Cavalry. 

South of Potomac, the 136, 145, 147, 164, 166, 169 Ohio 
National Guard ; 6 Companies Heavy Volunteer Artillery ; 
12 Companies Light Volunteer Artillery; 2 Companies 
U. S. Artillery. Commanded by Brigadier-General G. 
A. De Russy, an effective force of 4,064 Infantry, 1,772 
Artillery, 51 Cavalry. 

In addition to these there were in Washington and 
Alexandria about 3,900 effectives (i & 2 D. C. Vols. Vet- 
eran Reserves and detachments) doing guard duty under 
Generals Wisewell and Slough, and 6 Regiments, Veteran 
Reserves, about 4,400 men. At the Artillery Camps 
(Barry) there were five field batteries, 627 men. 

A brigade of cavalry consisting of 2d Massachusetts, 
and i6th New York, numbering 800 effective men, was 
posted near Falls Church, and commanded by Col. C. R. 
Lowell, who resisted to the utmost Early's progress, and 
never hesitated to attack when it was desired to develop 
the enemy's force. * * * The 8th Illinois Cavalry under 
Col. Gamble was at Fort Stoneman awaiting equipment. 
A part of this regiment was sent to Rockville and other 
points to observe the enemy. The other part was ordered 
to report to McCook, at Brightwood. The entire force 
numbered about 20,400 men, an inefficient force for ser- 
vice on the lines. — Defenses of Washington, p. 107, 
Barnard. 

General McCook in his report gives the following as the 
strength of the Federal troops : 



Cox: The Defenses of Washington. 25 

Right of Fort Stevens. 

Provisional Brigade, Col. Price, 2,800 

Second District Regiment, Col. Alexander, 550 
1 2th Veteran Reserve, Col. Farnsworth, 550 

Quartermaster employes, 1,800 

Battery L, ist Ohio, 2 guns, 121 

7th Michigan Cavalry, Major Darling, 450 

Left of Fort Stevens. 

2d Vermont, 232 

3d Vermont, 272 

147th Ohio, 465 

9th Veteran Reserve, 350 

157th Ohio, 184 

ist Main Battery, 2 guns, 112 

Total, 7,886 

—War of the Rebellion, Vol. XXXVII., Series I., 
P- 235- 

C. 

General Early claims to have had but 8,000 muskets, 
40 pieces of artillery, manned by 600 or 700 men, and 
2,000 cavalry. 

The accuracy of these figures has been questioned. 
General Sheridan characterizes the numbers as falsifying 
history. 

A Southern writer makes the total 13,500. 

General Wallace estimated the force that confronted 
him at Monocacy at 20,000. 

General McCook, in his report, fixes the number at 
30,000. 

General Couch states that there were 60 pieces of artil- 
lery actually counted in passing South Mountain. 

Colonel R. D. Cults, of General Halleck's staff, made 



26 Cox : The Defenses of Washington. 

a careful estimate of Early's numbers from data from Gen- 
erals Couch, Siegel and Howe, when Early was in the 
vicinity of Harper's Ferry. 

He says that between the 3d and i8th of July, during 
the interval between the crossing of the Potomac and their 
retreat beyond the Shenandoah, the total number of pris- 
oners, including wounded aud captured from Early's com- 
mand, was 1,255 officers and men, the name, rank and 
regiment in each case having been carefully ascertained 
and recorded. 

These prisoners represented 99 regiments of infantry, 
36 of cavalry, and 10 of artillery organizations, besides 5 
or 6 separate battalions not specified as belonging to any 
particular arm of the service ; and estimating the strength 
of each regiment at 180 officers and men, of the cavalry 
at 100, and of the artillery, 60 guns, at 100 for each bat- 
tery, being actually less in each arm than that reported by 
prisoners, the following aggregate numbers result: 
99 regiments of infantry, 17,820 

36 " " cavalry, 3>6oo 

rtillery, 60 guns, 1,000 



22,420 
— Defenses of Washington, pp. 120-121. 
General Sheridan produced the receipt of the Provost 
Marshal General of the Department for 13,000 prisoners 
captured from Early's command during the Washington 
campaign. — Ohio in War, Vol. I., p. 522. 

The Opposing Forces at the Monocacy, Md. 
July 9TH, 1864. 

The Confederate Army. — Lieutenant General 
Jubal A. Early. 
Gordon's Division,* Maj. General John B. Gordon. 

*Maj.-Gen. John C. Breckenridge commanded Gordon's and Echol's 
divisions. 



Cox : The Defenses of Washington. 27 

Evans Brigade, Brig. -Gen. C. A. Evans, Col. E. N. 

Atkinson; T3th Georgia, ; 26th Georgia, ; Col. 

E. N. Atkinson; 31st Georgia, ; 38th Georgia, ; 

60th Georgia, ; 6ist Georgia, Col. J. H. Lamar; 

I2th Georgia, Battalion, ; Hays Brigade,! Col, W. 

R. Peck ; 5th Louisiana, ; 6th Louisiana, ; 7th 

Louisiana, ; 8th Louisiana, ; 9th Louisiana, 

; Stafford's Brigade ; * ist Louisiana, ; 2d 

Louisiana, ; loth Louisiana, ; 14th Louisiana, 

; 15th Louisiana, ; Terry's Brigade, f Brig. -Gen. 

William Terry, 2d, 4th, 5th, 27th, and 33d Virginia 
(Stonewall Brigade), Col. J. H. S. Funk ; 21st, 25th, 42d, 
44th, 48th, and 50th Virginia (J. M. Jones's brigade), 
Col. R. H. Dungan ; loth, 23d, and 37th (Virginia 
Steuart's brigade), Lieut. -Col. S. H. Saunders. 
Breckenridge's Division, % Brig. -Gen. John Echols. 

(Consisted of Echol's, Wharton's and Vaughn's brigades 
the latter being dismounted cavalry.) 
Rodes Division, Maj.-Gen. R. E. Rodes. 

Grimes's Brigade: 32d N. C, ; 43d N. C, ; 

45th N. C, ; 53d N. C, ■ ; 2d N. C. Battalion, 

; Cook's Brigade: 4th Georgia, ; 12th Georgia, 

; 2ist Georgia, ; 44th Georgia, ; Cox's 

Brigade: ist N. C, ; 2d N. C, ; 3d N. C, 

; 4th N. C, ; 14th N. C, ; 30th N. C, 

; Battle's Brigade: 3d Alabama, ; 5th Alabama, 

; 6th Alabama, ; 12th Alabama,- — ; 6ist Ala- 
bama, . 

Ramseur Division, Maj.-Gen. S. D. Ramseur. 

Lilly's Brigade : 13th Virginia, ; 31st Virginia, ; 

49th Virginia, ; 52d Virginia, — ; 58th Virginia, ; 

* United under the command of Brigadier-General Zebulon York. 

t Composed of the "fragmentary remains of fourteen of the regiments 
of Edward Johnson's division, most of which was captured by the enemy 
May 12, 1864." 

I Composition not clearly indicated. 



28 Cox: The Defenses of Washington. 

Johnston's Brigade: 5th N. C, ; 12th N. C, ; 

20th N. C, ; 23d N. C, ; Lewis's Brigade: 6th 

N. C, ; 2istN. C, ; ; 54th N.C., ; 57th 

N. C, ; ist N. C. Battalion, . 

Calvary, Maj. Gen. Robert Ransom. 

(Composed of the brigades of McCausland, Imboden, 
W. L. Jackson and Bradley T. Johnson, The latter 
brigade was sent before the battle "to cut the Northern 
Central and the Philadelphia and Baltimore railroads.") 
Artillery, Lieut. -Col. J. Floyd King. 

(Composed of Nelson's, Braxton's and McLaughlin's 
battalions.) 

With the forces above enumerated General Early con- 
tinued his movetnent on Washington . 

In his official report he says that in the action at the 
Monocacy " our entire loss was between 600 and 700, in- 
cluding the cavalry," and that when in front of Washing- 
ton " my infantry force did not exceed 10,000."* 



D. 

Losses. 
General Frank Wheaton reports the killed and wounded 
of the I St and 3d Brigade, 6th Corps as 

59 killed, 
145 wounded. 
Dr. Robert Reyborn gives the casualties of the 2 2d 
Corps as 

12 killed, 

61 wounded. 

The 25th New York Cavalry suffered severely on July 

nth but I am unable to find any record of its losses. We 

know, however, that there are five of this Regiment buried 

at Battle Ground Cemetery and others who died from 

* Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Vol. IV., p. 499. 



Cox: The Defenses of Washington. 29 

wounds received before Fort Stevens are said to be buried 
at the Soldiers Home and Arlington. I think it would be 
fair to assume that at least 8 men were killed in this Regi- 
ment which bore the brunt of the early fighting, and 30 
wounded.* 

General Meigs reported i killed and i wounded. The 
8th Illinois Cavalry lost men as well as the 150th and other 
Ohio regiments not mentioned by Dr. Reyburn. I esti- 
mate the total killed and wounded to have been about 400. 

Since writing the above, I find the following in the 
Civil War in the U. S., Vol. XXIII. 



Chronological Summary. Compiled from Official 

Records. 

Fort Stevens, Washington, D. C. 

22 Corps, I & 2 Divs., 6 Corps, Marines, Home Guards, 
Citizens and Convalescents. 

Union. Confederate. 

54 killed, 600 killed 

319 wounded. and wounded. 

Among the Officers Killed Were : 

Lt. Col. J. D. Visscher, 43 N. Y. Vols. 

Lt. Col. G. M.Johnson, 49 " " 

Maj. James P. Jones, 7 Maine " 

First Lt. John E. Bailey, 7 " " 

First Lt. David E. Lambart, Jr., 49 N. Y. Vols. 
Second Lt. Wm. Laughlin, 61 Penna. " 

* Mr. T. Raymond, Custom House, New York, formerly a member of 
the 25th New York Cavalry, has just written me that from letters to his 
home in 1864, he finds that the loss of that regiment was 17 killed and 
23 wounded out of 400 men engaged. 



30 



Cox : The Def crises of Washington. 



Among the Officers Wounded Were 



Col. J. F. Baillier, 
Lt. Wm. Wilson, 
Capt. Martin Haninner, 
Asst. Surgeon Crawford, 
Maj. J. W. Crosby, 
Capt. Davis Cossitt, 
Capt. Geo. H. Baker, 
Lt. Col. W. B. French, 
Capt. Clark, Sixth Veteran Reserve, was wounded 
while attempting to take a barn near Rock Creek. 

Lt. H. M. Nevius, 25 N. Y. Cavalry, lost his arm July 
nth, near the McChesney Spring. 

The following killed in action on July 11 and 12, 1864, 
are buried in Battle Ground Cemetery, near Brightwood. 



98 Penn. Vols. 

98 " " 

98 " " 

102 " " 

61 " *' 

122 N. Y. *' 

7 Maine " 

77 N. Y. " 



Name. 
Sergeant Thomas Richardson. 
Sergeant Alfred C. Starbird. 
Elijah S. Hufletin. 
Jeremiah Maloney. 
William Tray. 
E. C. Barrett. 
E. S. Bavett. 
John Davidson. 
Matthew J. DeGraff. 
G. W. Farrar. 
Mark Stoneham. 
Wm. H. Gillett. 
Corporal A. Matott. 
Corporal William Ruble. 
Andrew J. Dowen. 
Andrew Manning. 
Alvarado Mowrey. 



Regiment. 

. 25th N. Y Cavalry. 

40th N.Y. Infantry. 
. 43d N. Y. Infantry. 

49th N. Y. Infantry. 
► 77th N. Y. Infantry. 



Cox: The Defenses of Washington. 



31 



John Bentley. 
Harvey P. B. Chandler. 
Daniel L. Hogeboon. 
Alanson Mosier. 
John Renia. 

Lieut. William McLaughlin. 
Andrew Ashbaugh. 
Philip Bovven. 
John Ellis. 
George Garvin. 
H. Mclntire. 
William Holtzman. 
Sergeant George Marquet. 
Bernard Hoerle. 
Charles Seahouse. 
Frederick Walther. 

Sergeant John M. Richards. 

John Dolan. 

Patrick Lovett. 

John Pockett. 

Corporal George W. Gorton. 

Russell L. Stevens. 

C. S. Christ. 



■ i22d N. Y. Infantry. 



, 6ist Penna. Infantry. 



93d Penna. Infantry. 



. 98th Penna. Infantry. 



139th Penna. Infantry. 

2d Mass. Cavalry. 
37th Mass. Infantry. 

7th Maine Infantry. 

ist R. I. Cavalry. 

3d Vermont Infantry. 

2d U. S. Artillery. 



